Renovating the swimming pool of Netanyahu’s house, located in the city of Caesarea, south of Haifa, sparks a crisis inside his office (social networking sites)

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the Accountant General of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office wants to resign from his position, in light of the decision of the head of his office to renovate the swimming pool of Netanyahu's house located in the city of Caesarea, south of Haifa.

Talk of renovating Netanyahu's pool came amid a series of heated discussions about widespread budget cuts, such as the war on Gaza that costs Israel at least one billion shekels ($269 million) per day.

The newspaper "Haaretz" quoted a source in the Ministry of Finance as saying, "The aforementioned restoration work request, which was submitted before the war, is related to repairing the swimming pool's steps and some leaks, and it was approved by the Prime Minister's Office during the war."

According to the newspaper, “Accountant General Roy Benvanishti requested to leave his position due to his dispute with the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Yossi Sheli, which revolved around financing the expenses of the restoration of the Netanyahu family’s private home in Caesarea and a house on Gaza Street in Jerusalem.”

According to officials in the Prime Minister's Office, "the decision regarding the renovation of his residence in Jerusalem and his private home in Caesarea was not implemented in violation of the law... All renovations comply with the rules. Other than that, we noted that this is funding for the maintenance and repair of the house and not for its renovation. The Prime Minister is using The swimming pool in the summer,” according to the newspaper.

An informed source in the Treasury Ministry told the newspaper: “This is not the first time they have clashed over housing expenses. The differences between them have reached the Ministry of Finance. This has happened since the Finance Committee gave the final word to the office director regarding financing expenses in Netanyahu’s two residences.”

In February 2023, the Knesset Finance Committee approved Netanyahu’s request to allocate government funding to cover housing costs in two private residences for his family – in Jerusalem and Caesarea – as the prime minister’s official residence undergoes extensive renovations and security upgrades.

The funding was approved after a stormy two-day committee meeting, bolstered by a strong show of support from members of Netanyahu's Likud party.

The task of allocating funding and supervision was entrusted to the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, Shelly, who managed Likud's election headquarters.

The Finance Committee also decided that the state would bear Sarah Netanyahu’s expenses “on any occasion, conference, or delegation in Israel or abroad,” and raise the ceiling to cover the expenses of clothes and makeup for the couple, with all of this being done retroactively, as of January 1, 2023.

Lawyers Gilad Barnea and Gilad Shir filed an objection to the committee's decision on the grounds that it was taken without authority and was extremely unreasonable.

Until 2015, expenses at the Prime Minister’s Residence were supervised by a tripartite committee, whose members included the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry’s Legal Advisor, and the Accountant.

From 2015 until 2023, expenses were covered according to the Prime Minister's Expense Sharing Procedure, under which the state must bear expenses at a private residence only if they are necessary to fulfill the role of Prime Minister.

Since Shelly obtained the authority to approve financing the expenses, frictions have occurred between him and the professionals in the Prime Minister’s Office, led by accountant Roy Benvanishetti, “who requested to leave, and a replacement will be appointed soon,” according to the newspaper.

By 1 March 2024, the Prime Minister's Office must submit to the Finance Committee a full breakdown of its household expenditures.

The response on behalf of the Prime Minister said: “These are just simple and safe repairs to preserve existing homes, which are carried out in accordance with the law and in accordance with the procedures for maintaining the homes of ministers and prime ministers, which if they are not implemented, the financial damage to the country will be ten times greater.”

Journalist Ben Caspit attacked the Netanyahu family and wrote a post on his account on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), saying: “Nothing will shake this family’s habits... The renovation of all the palaces, a swimming pool, leaks, cars, and security guards has been funded. As if there were nothing there.” There is war and there are displaced people, refugees and kidnapped people here.”

Here we are, we are here, we are here, we are here, we are here, we are here.


Here's what's going on, what's next ה, נזילות, מכוניות ומאבטחים.


Please don't worry about it.


Read more. pic.twitter.com/47qqKZyR0H

- Ben Caspit on Facebook (@BenCaspit) January 29, 2024

Netanyahu...trials in corruption cases

It is noteworthy that the issue of renovating the swimming pool at the Caesarea residence was raised during Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial during a hearing in the District Court in Jerusalem in 2022.

Hadas Klein, personal assistant to Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and assistant to Australian billionaire James Packer, explained how Sara Netanyahu sought to renovate the swimming pool at her family's private home in Caesarea at state expense, a plan that was ultimately thwarted by the prime minister.

The Prime Minister has often been criticized for what is seen as excessive spending on a lavish lifestyle.

His wife, Sarah, has also long faced allegations of lavish living, and State Comptroller reports found that she repeatedly tried to obtain financing for the couple's private residence, including one instance when she purchased furniture, apparently for the official residence in Jerusalem, and then moved it to the family's residence. Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea, while old furniture was moved from Caesarea to his residence in Jerusalem.

There are several cases filed against Netanyahu, who pleads his innocence in 3 corruption cases. “File 4,000,” which investigators released on one of the cases, is described as the most dangerous to him.

In the first case, called “Case 1000,” Netanyahu and members of his family are suspected of receiving bribes worth 750,000 shekels ($240,000) from Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, and 250,000 shekels ($72,000) from Australian billionaire James Packer.

In the second case, called “Case 2000,” the police suspect Netanyahu of trying to reach an agreement with the owner of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, publisher Arnon Mozes, under which the Israeli newspaper, one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the Hebrew state, would provide positive coverage about him.

As for the bribery case known in the media as the “4000 case” or the “Bezeq case”, which is the largest communications group in Israel, it revolves around whether he sought to obtain positive media coverage on the Walla news site owned by Shaul Elovitch, head of the Bezeq Group, in exchange for government services and facilities that brought his group hundreds of dollars. millions of dollars.

Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press + social networking sites